Interchangeable fashion footwear component

ABSTRACT

An interchangeable fashion footwear component has a decorative cuff which fits around the perimeter of the opening of the shaft of a boot. The decorative cuff may be held in place by an adjustable strap which extends downwardly into the heel portion of the boot engaging the user&#39;s heel or any part of the underside of the foot when the boot is worn. The decorative cuff may include an elastic component to accommodate various boot opening circumferences. The decorative cuff may include an adjustable fastener to accommodate various boot opening circumferences. The adjustable strap may be shortened or lengthened to match the shaft length of the boot. The strap may be removable for washing separately from the decorative cuff.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of co-pending application Ser. No.61/376,123, filed on Aug. 23, 2010, entitled INTERCHANGEABLE FASHIONFOOTWEAR COMPONENT.

FIELD

The present invention generally relates to a footwear accessory and,more particularly, to an interchangeable fashion footwear component foradorning footwear.

BACKGROUND

Dress boots and fashion boots come in a variety of styles, sizes, andlengths of the shaft. Fashion boots have become quite popular but mayalso be fairly expensive thereby limiting the number of pairs of boots aperson can own. Additionally, boots take up more space than a typicalpair of shoes imposing a physical limit on the number of pairs of bootsa person can practically own.

Another fashion consideration with shoes in general is a person,particularly women, prefer to coordinate outfits with matching tops,bottoms, hair accessories, jewelry and shoes. If a person only owns onepair of boots, she is limited to a single style or must limit thefrequency with which she wears her boots.

Various attempts have been made to change the look or style of a pair ofdress or fashion boots. One device includes a boot cover that covers theentire shaft of the boot to change the appearance of the boot. Althoughthis changes the look of the boot, a shaft cover is often expensive andcannot accommodate the various shaft lengths limiting the wearer tocertain shaft covers matched to a pair of boots with a certain shaftlength. Other devices include attaching a cuff around the opening of theshaft with snaps or clips so that different cuffs may be interchanged toprovide a different look to the boots. This often requires a physicalmodification to each pair of boots such that the boot cannot or wouldnot be worn without the cuff in place. Still other devices have beenproposed which combine a sock with an inwardly turned decorative cuffthat may be folded over the top of the boot opening to provide adecorative look. These combination sock-decorative cuff devices requirethat the boot be sized to accommodate a user wearing socks, andtypically must be washed after each wearing limiting the materials anddesign of the decorative cuff.

SUMMARY

The present invention includes interchangeable fashion footwearcomponent which has a decorative cuff which fits around the perimeter ofthe opening of the shaft of a boot. The decorative cuff may be held inplace by an adjustable strap which extends downwardly into the heelportion of the boot engaging the user's heel when the boot is worn. Thedecorative cuff may include an elastic component to accommodate variousboot opening circumferences. The decorative cuff may include anadjustable fastener to accommodate various boot opening circumferences.

The adjustable strap may be shortened or lengthened to match the shaftlength of the boot. The strap may be removable for washing separatelyfrom the decorative cuff.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an interchangeable fashion footwearcomponent of the present invention on an ankle boot.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the interchangeable fashion footwearcomponent of FIG. 1 with the vamp and shaft of the boot removed to showplacement of a strap in relation to a user's foot.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the interchangeable fashion footwearcomponent of FIG. 1, removed from the boot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in variousand alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale, somefeatures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particularcomponents. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis forteaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the presentinvention.

Moreover, except where otherwise expressly indicated, all numericalquantities in this description and in the claims are to be understood asmodified by the word “about” in describing the broader scope of thisinvention. Practice within the numerical limits stated is generallypreferred. Also, unless expressly stated to the contrary, thedescription of a group or class of materials as suitable or preferredfor a given purpose in connection with the invention implies thatmixtures or combinations of any two or more members of the group orclass may be equally suitable or preferred.

Referring to the figures, an interchangeable fashion footwear componentof the present invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 20.The footwear component 20 includes a cuff 22 and an adjustable strap 24.The cuff 22 extends around the upper opening 26 of the shaft 28 of aboot 30, and may include a lip curving around to an inner cuff 32 whichcovers or is just below the rim of the shaft 28. The cuff 22 may have acylindrical or tubular shape sewn or knitted into a tube. The cuff 22may include elastic along the upper 34 and/or lower 36 edges and/or thelip 32 to permit the cuff 22 to expand to accommodate different sizedboot openings 26.

Alternatively, the cuff 22 may be made of a strip of material and maywrap around the perimeter of the opening 26 of the shaft 28 and close atthe front 38, side or back. The right free end 40 may include one ormore hook fasteners 42 which engage a loop 44 on the left free end 46and allow the cuff 22 to be adjusted to fit different sized bootopenings 26. Other fasteners such as buttons, ties, snaps or Velcro®,for example, may be used to adjustably secure the free ends 40 and 46around the boot opening 26.

The cuff 22 may be made of leather, cloth or other material adorned withrhinestones or other embellishments. The material may be cloth ofvarious colors and/or patterns selected to complement the wearer'soutfit or other worn accessories. The free ends 40 and 46 of the cuff 22may include tails 48 and 50, respectively, which may extend down overthe vamp 52 of the boot 30 or may be tied into a bow, for example. Thefree ends 40 and 46 may be sewn together to meet at the upper 34 andlower 36 with adjustable material like elastic. Other accessories 54 maybe attached to any place on the cuff 22 for further embellishments. Thecuff 22 may be made of just embellishments or embellishment hook hangingfrom the lip of the inner cuff 32.

The strap 24 may be constructed of an elastic or other band of materialand secured to the inside of the cuff 22 by stitching or hooks, forexample. Alternatively, the strap 24 may be removably attached to theinside of the cuff 22 by Velcro® or hooks, for example. The strap 24 mayinclude a left 56 and right 58 portions which are adjustably joinedtogether by a strip of Velcro® 60 or other releasable-adjustablefastening material to form a stirrup 62. The strap 24 may be a singlepiece of elastic 56 secured to the inner cuff 32 by hooks and have anadjustable slider, or other releasable-adjustable fastening componentsto form a stirrup 62. The length of the stirrup 62 may be adjusted toaccommodate different height boots from ankle boots to mid-calf boots toknee boots. The stirrup 62 is placed inside the heel 64 of the boot 30.The wearer's foot 66 slips through the stirrup 62, which is then held inplace by the wearer's heel 68, and consequently holds the cuff 22 inplace around the opening 26 of the boot 30, along with the wearer's leg70. If the footwear component 20 is worn with a high sandal or togasandal, for example, the strap may be made of a clear plastic materialor a nude or skin colored material to help hide the strap. The placementof the sandal strap 24 may be placed forward from the heel to theunderside of the foot to accommodate different sandal styles.

To use the footwear component 20, the wearer places the strap 22 insidethe boot 30 and wraps the cuff 22 around the upper periphery of theopening 26 of the shaft 28 of the boot 30. The cuff 22 is adjusted tofit around the shaft 28 and is secured in place by the fasteners 42 and44. The wearer may adjust the length of the strap 24 so that the stirrup62 rests at the bottom of the heel 64 of the boot 30. When the wearerplaces her foot 66 into the boot 38, the wearer's heel 68 holds thestirrup 62 in place, consequently holding the cuff 22 in place.

If the wearer wants to use the footwear component 20 with another pairof boots it is simply a matter of adjusting the cuff 22 and strap 24 asnecessary to fit the shaft height of the particular pair of boots. Andmay adjust the circumference of the cuff 22 upper 34 or lower 36 toaccommodate the new size. After one or more wearings the strap 24 may beremoved from the cuff 22 and washed.

It is to be understood that while certain now preferred forms of thisinvention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited theretoexcept insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:
 1. A removable accessoryfor placement around the open top of a boot which has an opening definedby a peripheral top edge, said accessory comprising: a decorative cuffadapted to fit around the peripheral top edge of the boot opening andhaving an outside portion and an inside portion, adjustable strapreleasably and secured to said inside portion of said cuff and extendingdownwardly to form a stirrup; whereas said inside portion of saiddecorative cuff fits over the top periphery edge of the boot opening toextend into the boot opening; whereas said strap fits around the heel ofa wearer of the boot to hold said cuff in place around the peripheraltop edge of the boot opening.
 2. The accessory of claim 1 whereas saidcuff is a tubular material.
 3. The accessory of claim 1 whereas saidcuff includes an elastic material integrated into said cuff along anupper and/or lower edge of said cuff to expand and contract toaccommodate different sized boot openings.
 4. The accessory of claim 1whereas said cuff is a strip of material wrapped around the peripheraltop edge of the boot opening.
 5. The accessory of claim 4 whereas saidstrip of material includes a first end and a second end, a loop securedto said first end and one or more hook fasteners secured to said secondend to adjustably secure said strip of material to the peripheral topedge of the boot opening.
 6. The accessory of claim 4 whereas said stripof material includes a first end and a second end, a button hole throughsaid strip of material near said first end and a button secured to saidstrip of material near said second end whereas said button hole isadapted to receive said button therethrough to adjustably secure saidstrip of material around the peripheral top edge of the boot opening. 7.The accessory of claim 4 whereas said strip of material includes a firstend and a second end, said first end and said second end adjustablysecured together by a strip of Velcro® to adjustably secure said stripof material around the peripheral top edge of the boot opening.
 8. Theaccessory of claim 4 whereas said strip of material includes a first endand a second end whereas said strip of material is wrapped around theperipheral top edge of the boot opening and said first and second endsare tied together to form a bow or knot and short strip of elastic isused to adjustably secure said strip material to the peripheral top edgeof the boot opening.
 9. The accessory of claim 1 whereas said adjustablestrap includes a first piece having a fixed end attached to a firstinside portion of said cuff and a free end, and a second piece having afixed end attached to a second inside portion of said cuff opposite saidfirst inside portion of said cuff and a free end, said free end of saidfirst piece adjustably secured to said free end of said second piece.10. An accessory for placement around the rim of the opening of a boot,said accessory comprising: a decorative cuff having an outside portionwith an upper lip curving inwardly to an inside portion, and a straphaving a first fixed end secured to a first side of said inside portionof said decorative cuff and a second fixed end secured to a second sideof said inside portion of said decorative cuff opposite said first sideof said inside portion of said decorative cuff, whereas said upper lipof said decorative cuff is adapted to fit over the rim of the opening ofthe boot, and whereas said strap is adapted to form a stirrup to fitunder the heel of a wearer of the boot to secure said decorative cuff inplace around the rim of the opening of the boot.
 11. The accessory ofclaim 10 whereas said decorative cuff is tubularly shaped.
 12. Theaccessory of claim 11 whereas said lip of said decorative cuff includesan elastic material to accommodate different sized boot openings. 13.The accessory of claim 10 whereas said cuff is formed from a strip ofmaterial having a first tail and a second tail, whereas said strip ofmaterial is wrapped around the rim of the opening of the boot and saidfirst and second tails are secured together to secure said decorativecuff to the rim of the opening of the boot.
 14. The accessory of claim13 whereas said strip of material includes a loop secured to said firsttail and one or more hook fasteners secured to said second tail, whereassaid loop is adapted to receive one of said one or more hook fastenersto secure said second tail to said first tail and thereby secure saidcuff to the rim of the opening of the boot.
 15. The accessory of claim13 whereas said first tail includes a button hole therethrough and saidsecond tail includes one or more buttons or ties secured thereto,whereas said button hole is adapted to receive one of said one or morebuttons to secure said second tail to said first tail and therebyadjustably secure said cuff to the rim of the opening of the boot. 16.The accessory of claim 13 whereas said first tail is secured to saidsecond tail with a strip of Velcro® thereby adjustably securing saidcuff to the rim of the opening of the boot.
 17. The accessory of claim13 whereas said first tail and said second tail are wrapped around saidrim of said boot and tied together in a bow to secure said cuff to therim of the opening of the boot.
 18. The accessory of claim 13 whereassaid first tail includes a male snap member secured thereto and saidsecond tail includes one or more female snap members secured thereto,whereas said male snap member is adapted to engage one of said one ormore female snap members to securely fasten said cuff to the rim of theopening of the boot.